Creativity BLOGTales of authenticity, inspiration, and creativity​

366 Days of Creativity Week 29 in Review: July 15th - 21st

“It’s a creative tool. It’s a creative medium, but it’s also a language.”-​Tormod Askildsen, Senior Dr. at LEGO® in Brickumentary

Language.

It's so important.

There is a game often played when fans of LEGO® gather together called Telephone Build. One person has the pieces and the other the instructions. The person with the instructions cannot see what the builder is doing and the builder can't see the instructions. The instructor must tell the builder what to do.

My husband and I participated in this game. I went first as the instructor. It was so frustrating. The fact that we were competing against 10 other teams of kids and some finished literally in the first five minutes did not help. It took us 30 minutes and we were dead last.

But we stuck with it. We learned how to communicate about LEGO®. The same way one learns how to communicate about finances or feelings. One brick at a time. I learned I needed to ask what he saw and describe how I saw it. I was reminded I am not very patient. He learned he needed to wait until I told him to do something and not just guess.

Then we switched roles the next time a Telephone Build was offered. As the builder I now knew and asked better questions to make sure I got the spacing and direction right. We still didn't get any awards but at least we didn't finish last. I still don't know all the proper terms for the pieces, but I'm learning the language.

Another way LEGO® is a language is how I've been using it to build words lately. I like the progression from using the regular bricks to thinking outside of the box with pieces and shapes and design.

But funnily enough, even though I've been making words, LEGO® is a language without words. Sure, to do telephone builds it helps to know what bricks are called, but there are no words in LEGO® kit instructions.

Did you realize that? It's something I had never really paid attention to before.

I love this quote by a child named Micahel Pitt in the Brickumentary, "The great thing about LEGO, there's no words. The instructions are the pictures so if you can see, you know, you can follow directions and you can complete LEGOS.”

It truly removes a barrier for communication and includes. ​​Of course, if you can't see, you can always do a blind free play build (see my day 200 below that I did with my eyes closed inspired by the quote author).

Days 197-203

Day 197"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." ​-Voltaire

Day 198"Grace is really important for yourself. And that includes your drawing ability."​-Mike Rohde

Day 199​"Make play a part of everything: To take a playful approach, or even a child-like approach in some cases to basically everything you are doing, whether that's work or your running or your family time or whatever it is, to make play a part of that routine. To have fun with it, let loose, you know quit taking everything quite as seriously as you may be inclined to do." -Doug Hay

Day 200"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." ​-Helen Keller

Day 201"To create one's own world takes courage." ​-Georgia O'Keefe

Day 202"Art, like all living things, doesn’t thrive in a vacuum. It needs something to push against, something to react to, the grain of sand in the oyster. It could be a community of people with whom you collaborate. It could be an audience who shares your work and reflects new perspectives and energy. It could be colleagues who help you polish your creations and see it anew. It could be the long procession of great artists who preceded you and whose work can inspire yours in a thousand ways. Be brave. Step out. Invite response. Share your gifts. Art is a conversation. Make sure you’re not just talking to yourself." ​-Danny Gregory

Day 203"Every painting is a voyage into a sacred harbour." ​-Giotto di Bondone